


The Other Half Of Him

by Dreaming_Writer



Series: Reposts from Fanfiction.net [7]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Episode: s02e08-09 The Ultimate Enemy, Eventual Happy Ending, Evil Vlad Plasmius, F/M, Ghosts of Dead People, How Do I Tag, Non Canonical Immortal, Redeemed Vlad Masters, Self-Harm, Self-Sacrifice, TUE AU, Temporary Character Death, mentions of past rape, reposted from fanfiction.net
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2019-08-22
Packaged: 2020-09-24 01:51:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 10
Words: 19,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20350402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreaming_Writer/pseuds/Dreaming_Writer
Summary: Imagine Dannys shock when he opened his eyes only to find out he had not died after being stabbed by his crazy with Plasmius merged ghost half. And having been frozen for the last ten years while his other half destroyed the world. It is time for him to show his other half that he does not agree with what Phantom did. (TUE AU: Dannys human half survived.)





	1. 1. The other half of him

1\. The other half of him

Fear, oh, he was so afraid.  
Pain, oh, it hurt so much.  
Regret, oh he was so sorry.  
And when the pain got too much he just let go. He hadn´t got anything to lose anymore.

Nothing left, it was cold, dark.  
He had no idea which time it was.  
In the backgound were some noices, some voices.  
Sleep, he was just so tired and now it just felt good to let go.

0oOo0

The next time he woke up it was still cold, but it got warmer. He blinked, trying to remember what had happened. And when he did, he regreted it. His family, his friends, his teacher, heck, even his over half were gone, gone, unreachable.  
The stab in his chest which should have killed him might have healed but his other wounds never will. And they hurted.  
So why stay awake? Why should anything matter anymore to him?  
He let go again.

0oOo0

The third time he woke up everything was clear. In the background was a loud alarm and in front of him stood a woman in her midth twenties. She had dark hair and skin and green-bluesh eyes and she wore a red suit. You could see, she was beatiful and a fighter, but now she just looked worried. He wondered who she was, but secretly he had the feeling he knew her.  
He saw that he was in some kind container, it was very cold, and everything was wet. “Have I been frozen?” the boy wondered, but then he shook his head. Why should anyone do something like that to him?  
When his bue eyes met hers she smiled and hit a button on the side of his glassy prison. The container opened and the boy stumbeld forward into the waiting arms of the young woman. She stumbeld back but held him tight. “Come on, Danny, I´ll get you out of here” she whispered, and Danny felt himself smiling and the world went dark once more.

0oOo0

It was dark when Danny opened his eyes. He was to his surprise in his old room. For a moment he felt himself full of the foolish hope that everything that had happened was just a dream.  
He would ignore that his room was too dusty for such a thing to happen, but he stumbeld out of the safety of his bed and to th window. Everything was alright, they all would be alive and well and he would still have his ghosthalf.  
But when he looked out of the window everything had changed, his little hope crushed. And he was forced to accept this empty feeling, half of him gone, the other half grieving for the loss of everything he once had.  
He wished his with Vlads merged Ghosthalf would have killed him properly and not only giving him huge pain and a giantic scar on his chest.  
His next thought was the time. He had no idea what day it was. He guessed by the darkness it was bofere sunrise. Then he turned to look into the mirror of his room. He still looked fourteen, so it only could have been some months. Danny didn´t know if it was a good or bad thing because he was still grieving for his loss.  
Suddenly the door opened and the woman from earlier entered holding a package of food. When she saw Danny was awake, she almost dropped it. Quick reflexes cought the contents luckily. Danny handed the package back to her, not really knowing what to say.  
The woman eyed him curious: “Aren´t you hungry?” The boy shook his head: “No not really”.  
To say the truth he was, but that didn´t matter in the moment to him. The woman looked cautious at him before saying: “You should eat.” Danny shook his head: “I´m not hungry. But why should that matter to you? You don´t even know me.”  
In mind he added to have a suspicion to know her, a feeling whispering her name, he knew her, he just didn´t want it to be trueth. The woman sighed before sitting down on the bed and gesturing him to do the same. Danny eyed her cautious but did as requested. The woman smiled sadly before starting: “I knew something like that could happen, the doctors warned me. But Danny, you have to believe me if I say it: It´s me, Valerie Grey.”  
And when the suspected month turned to years Danny was just glad he already sat because he wasn´t sure if his legs would have carried him further after hearing this.

0oOo0

Valerie told him of how Phantom had pushed the world into chaos and how Amity Park had been the only safe place for some years before Phantom had returned to it.  
She told Danny how she had found him in the smoking remnants of Vlads Villa and that it was lucky that he had been even if it was only barely alive to that point of time.  
She told him how the doctors had healed him and how she decided to freeze him along with some other kids to wake up in a brighter future without Phantom in a secret underground laboratory outside of Amity they thought was safe.  
And she told him how Phantom came back and broke into the lab killing every single child besides Danny, who again was lucky to have survived because she, the Red Huntress, had been at least fast enough to get him out of there.  
Valerie told him about the most impotant things that had happend in the last ten years and how she was sorry that she had decided to freeze him without his agreement.  
Danny assured her that he was fine with that and only then Valerie saw how wise he was bejond his age. She didn´t know that he silently cursed himself for being able to survive and not having one of the deceased children instead of him sitting next to her.  
On some point Valerie convinced him that he would be better off now eating his food than grieving for what had happened. He wouldn´t be able to get rid of that pain and last time he tried everything only got worse, he remembered. 

After accepting the fact he was indeed ten years in the future without needing to age, Valerie lead him down into the laboratory of the Fenton Works where they met Damon Grey, Valeries father. Only having lost one eye and an arm he still looked pretty fine for his age. There weren´t much words to share. He only informed Valerie that Phantom was sighted near Amity and she nodded before rushing away, leaving Danny with her father and an akward silence.

The peace only lasted fifteen minutes when suddenly an awful sound was heard and the Ghost-Shield around Amity broke. Hell went loose and sirens all around Amity grew loud together with the awful sound. Damon rushed to the screens standing on one side of the lab. Next thing they knew was that the Fenton-Works shook with an explosion.  
“Does that happen every day?” asked Danny with wide eyes. Damon shook his head: “No, only...”  
He got cut off by Valerie rushing into the room: “Dad, the Fright Knight is here which means that he can´t be far behind. What do we do? What do w-“ She got cut cut off by the awful sound and Damon: “Val, run!”  
And then suddenly he was there, breaking through the ground: “Hello Valerie.” He didn´t seem to aknowledge Dannys present who stood safely hidden behind Damons bigger features. Then Phantom spoke again: “And goodbye.” He summoned a very strong ectoplasma attack in his outstredged hand and shot it at them. 

0oOo0

When the smoke lifted Phantom was gone. Instead was an Anti-Ghost-Shield covering the three people. With a panicked act Danny had hit one of the dozen Fenton-Safety-Buttons, which instantly reacted to his Fenton-DNA summoring up a powerful Ghost-Shield and leaving Phantom thinking he erazed them from existence.  
“...how...?” asked Valerie coming over the shock of still being alive. Danny smiled sadly: “The Fenton Works has a spezial safety system to defend any Fenton against any attack or attacker.” Valerie nodded, understandment in her eyes: “I see, so your parents really weren´t such morons everyone said they were...” When Danny gave her an angry look, she quickly completed: “...not that I ever thought they were.”  
Danny rose an eyebrow but Damon interupted: “Not that that would matter now. It safed our lifes and thats all that matters, right?” When both nodded, Damon continued: “I just wished we had known of this inventon earlier...It would have saved thousands of lifes, that´s for sure.”  
Danny nodded, but then he stopped death in his tracks: “Wait a sec, does that mean he does this all the time?” Valerie nodded: “Why do you ask; I had already told you upstairs if you might remember.” Danny shook his head: “Sorry, I was too freaked out that ten years have gone by without me knowing it that I was kind of to distracted to listen to anything else in that matter!”  
The boy started walking up and down, shaking his head, guilt nagging in the back of his mind. It was all just his fault! If he never had wanted Phantom to be removed from him, nothing like that would ever have happened! 

Damon interupted his thoughts: “Do you think it would be able to build a security system like this for the whole city and everyone and not just here and for you?” Danny stopped wih his pacing and sighed: “I doubt it. The only persons to be able to do so should be my parents or maybe, if he hacked into the system, Tucker. We should ask h-...”  
Danny stopped. Asking for Tucker again, his dead best friend, was a habit he had for almost his whole life. He would always help him.  
But now...  
The truth hit Danny like a stonewall, crushing his hopes and plans. The cruel reality stood there and laughed him in his face. While he fought not to start crying, he whispered: “Right...they are gone...”  
“I´m sorry, Danny” whispered Valerie. The boy turned to go upstairs, shaking with sorrow: “Excuse me please...” Valerie looked like she wanted to follow him, but Damon held her back: “Give him some time alone. He needs it.” 

Danny stared at the ceiling of his room, lieing in his bed, his emotions going crazy. He had hoped if Vlad removed his Ghost-Half the pain might stopp, but no, it only got worse. Now he couldn´t even go flying and clearing his head, now it was his fault the world was destroyed, and millions of people were dead. He stopped sobbing when his mind, his hero-complex, his very being came to a conclution. He stumbeled to his closed and reached in depths of it for a special piece of clothing. He only wore it once, now was the time to finish everything where it began. 

0oOo0

Valerie and her father blinked, too shocked for a moment, when Danny came down again. For a second their mind whispered about the resemblement and screamed for a negative picture, but they just had to shake it off.  
Valerie caught herself first: “D...Danny?”  
Yes, indeed it was Danny. He wore a grim expression, pure bravery in his eyes. His white-black HAZMANT-Suit still fit him perfectly. He held a Fenton-Bazooka in his hands and on his black belt hung the Fenton-Thermos.  
He finally spoke up, breaking the silence: “I´m done with hiding myself, grieving for what I´ve lost while other people are still losing their life out here. I now I can help to stop it, I will help.”  
If Jack Fenton would have seen his son in the moment, he would have been proud, the boy taking over his ghost hunting buziness. But the teen himself had no interest in the hunting itself:  
He just wanted to stop Phantom himself and showing him that the other half of him does not agree with what he had done.


	2. 2. Run, Danny

2\. Run, Danny!

The ground shook. Buildings crumbeled. People got crushed. Dan Phantom was furious.  
Over the last few weeks people started fighting back because there was hope. Pathetic, helpless hope, in form of a new Ghosthunter.  
The worst thing was hope was so hard to cruh and even the tiniest spark could start the fire of revolution. Hope defated fear. And if any ghost or human that doesn´t follow him had hope it wouldn´t end good. So he had to find this new hunter and get rid of him forever.  
What did he know about him?  
The hunter never was seen by any ghost and if a ghost might have seen him, it was never seen again. He obviously had contact with the Red Huntress aka Valerie. By the way, how she had survived his attack was a question he would have to answer later. Plus he called himself “Fenton”.  
Phantom had to assure the ghosts himself that it wasn´t Daniel James Fenton, for he had killed the boy himself. The ghosts that knew him from before this time had looked at him shocked: Slaying people was now almost normal, but killing the other half of him? That was new.  
And this “Fenton”-guy gave people hope. That was why Phantom announced an official challenge agaist the hunter, knowing too well whoever he was would take it, if it meant they could build a trap, even if it could cost his life. The fight would take place in a street in the outskirts of Amity Park. 

0oOo0

“You can´t go” announced Valerie, shaking her head. “He´s gonna kill you.”  
Danny –or better now just Fenton- shook his head now himself, too: “You don´t think you can stop me and if I die it will at least have a purpouse, right?” Valerie was furious: “Oh no, don´t even dare to think about it! You´re so grounded, young man, if you decide to die.”  
Danny frowned slightly. “What are you, my mom?” he asked even if he had to smile a little. Valerie almost growled: “If you die, I will go to the Ghost-Zone or the realm of Death, drag you back here by your ear and you´ll spent the next ten years in your room!”  
“I like you, too” Danny announced, rolling his eyes. “But when he´s gone don´t forget to set the ghost we´ve captured in the thermos free, will you?” he asked serious.  
Valerie sighed and looked away. “I´m just worried, Danny. You´re he only friend I´ve left and now that I´m much older than you, I can´t help but try to take care of you. You´re still just a child. You shouldn´t be forced to do that. I hate this ectoplasmatic scum for what it is doing to you.”  
“I´ll be fine” Danny promised. “But in case, don´t forget to them free. Life sucks in there.” He pointed to the full Fenton-thermos and took another one.  
Valerie sighed: “Stay safe, Danny. And if you need me, just call. I´ll be hiding in the near.” “Just concentrate on the trap, and whatever happens it will be okay” then he turned and left.  
Valerie whipped her tears away and nodded to herself. The world and Danny needed right now a strong Red Huntress, she couldn´t and wouldn´t let them down.

0oOo0

“He is late” Dan Phantom growled, red eyes darting back and forth. A small voice in the back of his mind grinned: “You didn´t really think he would come? No one would be so stupid and run into their own death with seeing eyes...”  
“Well, you would if it meant saving others” Dan Phantom answered annoyed. The childish voice huffed angered: “...that´s another thing. I meant except complete and utterly fruitloops like you, just to safe your pride.” “Just shut up already” Dan Phantom growled.  
“Whatever you say, Plasmius, whatever you say” the voice grinned. Then it added bitterly: “It´s not like you could take anything more from me. You already control my powers and my body...”  
Then the voice finally quieted while Dan Phantoms red eyes searched through the street. Anger boiled in him dangerosly, then he screamed frustareted: “FENTON! WHERE ARE YOU?” 

Then a voice piped up behind him: “Right behind you, dumbass.”  
And when the Ghost turned and saw the teen that was holding a Fenton-Bazooka up to him, he thought for a moment that his core would stand still.  
Red eyes flickered green for a second when another mind tried fighting for control: “Danny?”  
When the eyes went red again, the boy didn´t hesistate to shoot. Dan Phantom was flung by the force of the impact in the next building, red eyes filled with fury while whipping the green goo away.  
The next few minutes were spent with shooting and dodging, running, flying, jumping and shooting again. The next shoot from the side of Danny threw the Ghost into the next building which crumbeled on the impact.  
When the smoke lifted and Danny saw the Ghost was stuck under some heavy stones, he carefully approached him, Fenton-Bazooka ready to shoot. Dan Phantom looked up, red eyes wide: “You wouldn´t shoot me, would you?”  
Danny looked unimpressed: “Tell me one reason why I shouldn´t.” “We were once the same” argued the ghost.  
Danny shook his head and laughed bitter: “The Same? No, you´re not me, you are a murderer. You damned the world for chaos, you killed millions of innocent people and you hurt them. I would never do that.” The boy lowered the gun and spat into the ghost´s face: “I would rather die than do such a thing!”  
A sly smile entered the ghosts face: “Good to know.” And then he quickly went intangible, flew to Danny before he could do something else and crushed the boy into the next building. The gun long forgotten the boy groaned while trying to stand up again, only to be grabbed and lifted up. Danny fought for air and kicked around him only to find it not using anything.  
Dan Phantom shook his head in annoyance: “Pathetic. I can´t believe you used to be one half of a half of me.”  
Then he announced loud while grinning evily to the scared people watching the fight: “So this is your hope, the great hunter Fenton? Look at this little worm, a mere child, is this what you hope will safe you? Well I´m quite sorry to crush your hopes.” 

0oOo0

In the shadow of a corner Valerie got ready to get the teen out of Dan Phantoms grasp while talking in her communicator: “What the hell is taking you so long?!”

0oOo0

“No...you´re not...” pressed Danny before, while the Ghosts eyes fixiate him angrily: “Don´t you even dare to interupt me child!” And the boy was forcefully crushed on the ground only to be picked up again.  
“So...this child thought that playing hero would be cool so now I´m setting an example for everyone who ever tries to stand up against me.” The watching people grasped in horror, fear gripping their hearts for the innocent child. The boy shook –or at least tried to shook- his head tears of pain in his eyes but not crushing the strengh of will: “You can´t kill me.”  
Dan Phantom grinned cruelly: “Oh yes, I already did, but you somehow came back to life, so now I´ll just try again.” He summoned a gigantic ectoplasmic bolt up in his free hand. “So say goodbye to the world, D-...”  
And then suddenly the grip around Danny went weak and the boy fell on the ground, looking more shocked than anything else.  
When he looked up, the eyes of his enemy flickered between a bloody red and lighting green.  
“W...what?” Danny asked confused, when the ghost clawed his head in a agonizing way. And then everything stopped for a moment when the eyes suddenly stayed green.  
Phantom was panting heavily and had a hunted expression on his face and when his eyes met Dannys, the boy saw pure panic in the ghosts. Fear but not for himself, but for the child.  
“Danny...run...” pressed Phantom behind gritted teeths out while his eyes started to change colours again.  
“Ph...Phantom?” asked Danny just as shocked as everyone else watching the spectacle. “Just run! Don´t care about me!” yelled the owner of the green eyes again and Danny snapped out of his confusion and started to run.  
Valerie came out of her hiding place and started shooting on the ghost before rushing to the side of the fleeing boy and flying him out of the scene of fight on her hoveboard.  
“Change of plans” she explained. “Phantom somehow managed to disable every single trap. We have to go.” Danny shook his head: “No, Valerie, not Phantom. It´s Plasmius!”  
“What?” Valerie breathed in confusion, but then caught herself: “Doesn´t matter now, tell me later.” As if on cue green energy-attacks flew beside them, only missing them barely. “Let´s get back to Fenton-Works” Valerie ended, and they flew there.

0oOo0

Valerie crossed her arms and growled. “I thought you were on our side!” she yelled angry. Danny was just as upset as she was: “I am, but now I know he isn´t entirelly evil!”  
“He is!” yelled Valerie. Danny shook his head angry: “No, he is just controlled by Plasmius. Now that they share on body, they fight for control! And as it seems Plasmius had won. But now he´s fighting back! We have a chance; we just need to seperate them and then...”  
Valerie cut him off: “And then we have to Phantoms to take care off, one worse than the other. Great, just great.” Danny shook his head: “No, just give him a chance! You don´t know him!”  
“And you don´t know what he did!” there was so much pain in her voice that Danny shuddered and took a step back. Valerie stood silent for a minute before she sighed and said: “Follow me.”

0oOo0

Valerie led the boy through the streets of Amity into the outskirts, where almost only ruins were standing. Danny looked around, not really comfortable with the situation: “S...shouldn´t we just go back?” He had a bad feeling about all of this. Valerie didn´t answer and just lead him to the only still intact building in this part of the city.  
It was a house. It was small, red and had a small garden in the front where flowers in all colours grew. Next to the front door laid a football. Danny grew hot and cold when he understod who lived here...it was a child.  
Valerie tipped something in her multitask-bracelet and the door opened. She sighed before turning to Danny: “I´m sorry, I should have brought you here earlier. And I should have told you...Don´t be mad with me, okay?” Danny shook his head: “Hey, it´s okay. What or whoever is in there seems to be important for you. I understand that you didn´t showed me instant, plus we hadn´t got the time until now...”  
Danny stopped when someone stepped into his view. It was someone he knew. His breath caught in his throat when saw her. Amnetist eyes skanned his faetures and the girl...the ghost(!) in front of him started crying.  
“D...Danny...is that...is that really you?” she breathed in between her sobs and Danny nodded, too shocked for anything else.  
And then he found himself in the arms of the ghost of Sam Manson, crying her heart out on his shoulders and clinging on him for dear life.


	3. 3. There´s good in him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the cheesy title. Couldn´t help myself.

3\. There´s good in him

They somehow made it inside. Danny wasn´t sure how, everything after the hug was just a blur. After settling down on the couch in the livingroom Valerie had brought some drinks which stood untouched on the table in front of them.   
Sam still sobbed in his shoulder and Valerie seemed more interested in her feet then in anything else. Danny simply held the ghost not knowing what to think. She was dead...she had died ten years ago...but now here she was.   
She was still very pale and wore her usual outfit, he was sure the only thing that showed that she was a ghost was her slight glow and that she hadn´t aged. They were still the two fourteen-year-old they were when the Nasty-Burger exploded.   
Finally Sams sobbing stopped and she wipped her tearstrains away. “I´m so pathetic...I´m sitting here and cry my eyes out and I don´t even think once about how the last few years had been for you...” she said.   
Danny shook his head: “Don´t worry, Sam. It´s okay, it´s totally fine. I hadn´t that much time to grieve over you guys, anyway. But when? When did you come back?” Sam sighed before answering: “A week, a week after the accident. But when I came, Vlads mansion exploded. H...he told me...Ph...Phantom had st...stabbed you and you were still...still in there...”   
When she sobbed again, Danny just held her tight until she was able to stop her tears. Then he glared at Valerie: “You never told her! What did you think you were doing!?”   
Valerie flinched as if he had slapped her before answering: “The doctors weren´t sure if you would make it. And after that...I wanted to give you the option of a better future...without him threatening it...so I let you freeze with the other kids...”   
Danny sighed while Sam looked shocked: “You freezed him? You freaking freezed him and never told me a word! What were you thinking!? I thought he was dead, Valerie! DEAD! Gone, forever...”   
“Sam, it´s okay...” Danny tried to calm her down but his friend didn´t want to listen: “I don´t care what had happend, you should have told me! You freaking forbid me to see parents or go outside! I obeyed your advice and played babysitter, all those years thinking the love of my life is dead! And now...”   
“L...love of live?!” Dannys eyes were wide and his whole head had taken a red colour. Instantly Sams cheeks went hot and got a green colour. “I didn´t say that loud, did I?!” she almost screamed panicked. Valerie facepalmed.

But before anything else could happen a small voice interrupted the friends: “Mama, why it is that loud? Can´t sleep...”   
It was a child, not older than five, rubbing his eyes and yawning. He had short, black hair, which was half covered by a red hat and darker skin and there was no doubt who his mother was.   
Valerie’s eyes softened: “Jason...you should be asleep.” The boy yawned again, tugged a little on his red Pyjama, and shook his head: “Can´t. You´re too loud.”   
Then he smiled a cute smile and jumped forward, hugging one of Sams legs: “Aunt Sam! Can you tell me a story? I wanna hear a story, or I won´t sleep, ´kay?”   
Sam picked the boy with a loving smile up and cuddeled him, the boy giggeled happily. “Okay” laughed Sam. Her eyes met Danny´s and she smiled softly turning the boy’s attention on their guest.   
The boy eyed the stranger curious before asking: “Sam? Who is that?” Sam sat the boy down before pushing her friend who sat akwardly silent next her forward. “Jason Tucker Grey meet my best freind since forever: Danny Fenton, Danny meet Jason.”   
The kid smiled brightly and exclaimed in joy: “Hi Danny, Sam had told me so much about you!”   
Danny started “Hello Jason, it´s nice to...” but he stopped himself when he saw the kid’s eyes.   
“No...” he breathed panicked.   
Jason looked confused, tucked his head to the side and asked with big ectoplasmic green eyes worried: “Is something wrong, Danny?”   
Danny hugged himself in order to keep the panic inside of him before turning on his heels and storming out of the living room. He heard Jasons worried question if he was okay and the calming words Sam muttered before he shut the door close behind him. He had found the kitchen. Slipping on one of the counters down, his foughts racing.  
“I thought you were on our side!”  
“I am, but now I know he isn´t entirelly evil!”   
“He is!”   
“No, he is just controlled by Plasmius. Now that they share on body, they fight for control! And as it seems Plasmius had won. But now he´s fighting back! We have a chance; we just need to seperate them and then...”   
“And then we have to Phantoms to take care off, one worse than the other. Great, just great.”   
“No, just give him a chance! You don´t know him!”   
“And you don´t know what he did!”  
“Oh shit...Valerie...just shit...” he cursed, his mind giving him the answer to Valeries hate, even more. “I really had no idea...”

0oOo0

He didn´t know how long he just sat there until Valerie entered the kitchen, looking worried: “You okay?”   
Danny shook his head. “No, I don´t know...I...” he sighed struggeling for words. “I am sorry.” “Don´t be. It´s not your fault, Danny” Valerie said softly.   
But Danny shook his head, jumped up and yelled: “He freaking raped you! I didn´t know that and...I thought...oh my gosh! He raped you!”   
Valerie bit her lip, her eyes avoiding his: “I...I know. But it´s past. Five years, to be exact. And look at the little sunshine fate gifted me. I didn´t know ghosts were able to...uh...you know what. He is half ghost. I hadn´t thought it was possible for someone to be half ghost, but it seems like it is. And that´s what taught me that indeed not all ghosts are evil. You were right in that point. But just look at Phantom, he is evil himself and hasn´t anything good in him. I mean he...he...”   
Her voice broke but Danny had heard enough: “I know what he did, Valerie. And I´m so sorry. But you have to understand that it was Plasmius who did all those horrible things to you and everyone else. Dan Phantom is the outcome of merging Phantoms half with Plasmius. And Plasmius is weigh stronger than Phantom so he controlls their body.”   
Valeries eyes widened with confusion: “How would you know that?” Danny continued: “When Dan Phantoms eyes are red it´s Plasmius controlling him, but if they are green, it´s Phantom. And right now Phantom is fighting for control. You see there is good in him.”   
Valerie shook her head in fear while the back of her mind started to draw conclusions: “But...But why now? Why should he only start now to fight back? When you´re back? And you said they were only halfes...so what is with the other halfes of them?”   
In the back of her mind she started to get to know the terrible conclusion, she hoped to be able to deny it. Dannys beautiful, skyblue eyes locked with hers and a shutter ran down her back.   
He sighed before answering: “You have to understand Jason wasn´t the first Halfa, half ghost half human hybrid. There were others before him, but he was the first one ever to be born. The others were accidents, painful accidents. I wouldn´t recommend you to try and repeat them. It hurts to have every single molecule of your body to get rearanged. But who am I to talk? I´m so sorry for everything, Valerie.”  
Valeries whole body shook with horror written all over her face.   
She tried to deny it, deny everything but the evidence almost jumped into her face: “It´s not you fault...it´s not like you did it...did you?” She added the last part in hope he would deny everything, would crush her conclusions, but his blue eyes only held deep sadness: “That is the reason why I know theres good in him.”   
“And I believe it, too” added Sam from the doorframe, silently slipping next to her friend, hugging him and trying to give him strength. “I have tucked Jason back in, so we´ll have some time alone to talk. I guess you have many questions, and I bet we both are more than ready to answer.”   
Danny didn´t answer, but his best friend knew that he agreed silently with her. Valerie looked away, thoughts racing in her head. Then, when she looked back at the lovebirds, her eyes held all the strengh and pain of the warrior and mother she was: “How?”

0oOo0

Phantom was thrown against one side of his cell inside their mind, screaming in pain. Before Plasmius could do anything else to him he stood up, only to be kicked down again.   
“Stay down!” hissed the older ghost. Phantom grinned in pain but still didn´t give in: “He is alive, Plasmius! You failed; he is still alive!”   
Tears of joy and pain ran down his cheeks, but he didn´t mind them. Hope was written all over his actions. “It´s gonna be alright again, we are going to be one again and...everything is gonna be fine...” he whispered, only to have Plasmius kicking him in the gut.   
“I would destroy you” he announced angry, “But the bad thing is I still need you. So I am stuck with only killing the boy, this time merciless. Obviously, it needs more than just a knive stuck in his heart to stop it from beating.”   
Phantom managed to weakly lift his head: “Don´t you dare to touch him...he is innocent...” His electroplasmic green eyes held still held the fire even when his body was covered in bruises and his boyish face coverd by now almost grey hair, how dirty it was.   
Plasmius stepped out of the cage and growled: “I´d like to see you try and stop me, little badger.” He locked the cage, now with more care than before and sealed everything with ectoplasma: “I´d like to see you try to get out, but now I have to get up and start the day with killing your Danny.”   
Phantom robbed to the door and shook it with all of his strengh that was left: “Don´t you even dare!” Plasmius shook his head with amusement before adding: “I mean after all it´s just in my head.”   
And the world spun, the methaphorical cage vanished and Dan Phantom opened his glowing red eyes, ready to destroy today again everything including Amity and Danny Fenton this time.


	4. 4. Split

“You were Phantom.” “Yes”  
“I shoot at you while you never intented to hurt me.” “Again, yes.”  
“A freaking shewing toy ruined my life.” “Correct.” “...Valerie...”  
“You hoped by splitting you, the pain of the loss would go away.” “That´s right.”  
“And Mr. Master even suported you?! That´s completely insane!” “...Valerie!”  
“Thanks for summoring up the last month of my life.” “But this is just...!” 

“VALERIE! I am talking to you! Would you please come back to earth and listen to me for once?” a very annoyed Danny Fenton asked. Valerie blinked a few times before fastly nodding: “Yeah, yeah, what was it again?”   
Danny rolled his eyes in annoyance: “You know it´s very rude to ask a question and if it gets answered to not listen?” Valerie looked away: “Sorry, I spaced out. What did you say again?” Danny growled and crossed his arms. “Well, we talked eachother out and...and...”   
His head went read again: “Can you imagine it? She loves me, she loves me! Sam loves me! Who would ever have thought about this?” Valerie looked sad but put a mask of calmness up: “Why did you think everyone called you clueless and lovebirds? At least I hope you enjoyed your night together.”   
Danny nodded: “We had so much to talk about...We really had missed eachother.” He smiled softly before turning his head to the young woman, now looking sad: “But about your son, you´ve named him after Jazz and Tucker, right?” Valerie nodded. Her eyes darted around in the lab before she steppeed to the side of one of the scientists.   
“Kwan, how is the progress?” she asked. The man turned and grinned widely: “It´s doing fine, Valerie. Soon the Ghostcatcher will be ready to be used.”   
Danny’s eyes got wide when he recognized the Asian man wearing glasses: “Kwan? Is that you?” The man turned, a writingboard in his hands, lips tipped with a smile: “Well, at least that´s my name, kid.”   
He turned back to the Red Huntress: “Valerie, by the way, why did you bring the kid here?” Valerie shrugged, sensing the offence of her young friend bybeing called kid: “Well, I thought that it would be the best if Danny supervised the rebuilding of his parent’s invention, he once learned to use by himself.” The writingboard hit the ground together with the pencil.   
“D...Danny? As in Danny Fenton?” stuttered Kwan. His former classmate nodded: “Correct. Alive and ready to kick some ghosts butt.”   
Slowly Kwan turned to look at the kid again. The white and black HAZMANT-Suit, black hair and skyblue eyes, wearing a grim expression. “Danny Fenton...how are you alive? Phantom announced that you were the first to be killed by him” he muttered. Danny couldn´t help but grin: “Don´t worry, you´ll need more than just a knive to kill me.”   
Kwan shook his head, disbelieve in his eyes: “This is impossible...you didn´t even age.” His eyes widened with horror, he slowly backed away: “You´re Phantom, aren´t you? You have disguised yourself as Danny again to get in here!”   
He stopped dead in his tracks, then spun around for the alarmbutton: “I have to warn everyone! If I go down, you´ll too, Phantom!”   
In the last second before he could create a whole town panic attack, Valerie tackled him down: “Kwan! Stop! He really is Danny! He was alive all the time, I just had him be freezed to have him live in a better time, but the lab got attacked and I had to thaw him...so he was the only one to survive.”   
Kwans eyes darted back and forth between the two ghosthunter before he sighed, slowly got to his feet and picked pen and writingboard up. He seemed to think for some time, before nodding to himself: “...right. I understand.”   
His eyes caught Danny’s: “And I guess you were this new Hunter “Fenton”, correct?” Danny rubbed his neck sheeplishly: “...right...I never was good with names...”   
Kwan sighed before straightening himself: “You don´t have to explain yorself, Danny. It is okay...and by the way, I´m sorry. I´m sorry for all those times Dash and me bullied you, this was just...wrong. I should have helped you against Dash and not made it worse...”   
“It´s okay” said Danny, cutting his apologies off. “It´s not like you ever had a big choice. Not everyone can stand being an outsider.”   
“I know” said Kwan. “By the way, when he died, Dash said he was sorry, too. He wished he could have apologied himself to you for all those years he bullied you...before Phantom murdered him.”   
Danny’s eyes went wide: “Oh...I´m sorry...and what about the others?” Kwan looked away: “Some survived, others were killed. Paulina died having her heard phased out of her. And we thought he was a hero...but others are still alive...you know...I proposed last weak to Star...”   
Danny’s got wide, the boy smiled softly: “Oh my, congratulations then, it´s good to hear that at least some people are able to live happily.”   
Kwan smiled, too: “Yeah, I know. I´ll make sure to get you an invitation for our wedding.” “I´ll come” promised Danny and Valerie smiled and turned their attention back to the important topic: “Sweet. Now that we have spoken eachother out, we have to remember our main goal. When will the ghostcatcher be ready?” “He should be by now” answered Kwan. “Follow me, please. I´ll show you.”

0oOo0

“Is the trap ready?” asked Danny, clearly sounding annoyed. Through his com Valerie answered: “It is. Let the mission begin. But please...Stay safe.”   
Danny grimaced: “I always am.” “No you aren´t!” protested Sam, who was next to Valerie. “Your Hero-complex makes you do the most stupid things! You are never careful and...”   
Danny cut her off: “Yeah, I love you, too. See you!” Sam wasn´t even able to protest when Danny already cut the connection off. He sighted before getting out of his hiding place, now it was everything or nothing.

0oOo0

Dan Phantom heard Danny before he saw him. “It´s nice to see you alive and well, little badger” grinned the red eyed ghosts,   
Ignoring the pleading voice in the back of his mind, he flew forward and around the tensed Ghosthunter. “It was time we end that little game of hide and seek, don´t you agree?” Danny eyed him angrily: “Oh, indeed it is, but now please, I just came to talk with Phantom.” The ghost stopped dead in his turns and went face to face with the teen: “Oh is that so? You can talk now, if you like. I made sure he´ll hear.”   
The voice whispered broken: “No...Danny...don´t...run...please...run...”   
Dan Phantom grinned evilly to himself before making a huge ectoblast in his hands: “Any last words, kid, before you leave this world for good?!”   
Danny grinned slightly before saying: “Indeed, there are: Phantom, if you can hear me, hang in there! I´ll get you out!” When the eyes the ghost turned green in a helpless try to gain control and save his other half, Danny screamed: “NOW!” And then hell broke loose.

0oOo0

Some peolpe tend to think that after doing a mistake once, you would never do it again. But Plasmius was one of the persons who thought that they were superior of everyone and everything and that was how he managed to underrestimate Danny once again.   
And when suddenly this gigantic dream catcher fell down from the sky he swore to himself that he would tear Amity Park and every single person living in it into small pieces.   
But now there was a problem, a giantic problem called the “Fenton-Ghostcatcher”, which he definetely didn´t have had in mind. If you want revenge you need power. But there wasn´t much of that left for him. He was stripped from it, being split away from the ghost-kid he had for years in control.   
And when the smoke lifted, he stared horrified at the young, white haired ghost who blinked a few times in confusion, before seeming to realize that he was, yes indeed, free. Finally and utterly free. And it scared Plasmius to hell and back because he knew what the kid was capable of.

0oOo0

In all of his years being held captive in the back of an insane mind, Phantom always held on is sanity. Dreams, memories and hopes were his safety line, rescuing him of the fate of going nuts. But when the scared ghost opened his eyes, he knew he must have finally lost it.   
Because there was no way in the whole world and any other dimension that he was free, that he was himself, just completely himself. For a moment it scared him but then is mind told him what being free meant.   
His eyes lit up like the Christmastree he always hated with passion before taking some careful steps forward. His body protested, it was still beaten up by Plasmius, but hey! HE WAS FREE!   
Hurt, confused but finally free!   
And Danny was here, too, they would be one again, everything was going to be alright, he would be complete again, never split again, no never!   
But when he turned to look around, there was Plasmius lunging forward to grab him, get him again and...  
”No, you don´t!” yelled Valerie while shooting the elder ghost away. Oh, no, no, no! The Red Huntress was going to kill him! Tear him apart molecule by molecule!   
“Phantom, calm down!” he heard the voice of his human half. His green eyes scanned through the battlefield, finding Danny. “Danny” he whispered.   
And his core sunk by the realisation of what the boy must think of him right now. He was a monster, he knew it. No hero would ever do what he did. His human half would be disgusted by him, trying to get rid of him...like he already once tried.   
Phantom felt himself on the edge of tears, when he saw Plasmius aiming at the boy. Oh, no, no, no! Hewasgoingtokillhim!   
Phantom flew forward and grabbed the surprised boy. It didn´t matter now, if Danny would push him away, now the only thing that mattered was that he had to keep him safe!   
And with that thought he flew out of the fighting zone and as far away as he could while having his human half struggeling and complaining in his arms.


	5. 5. Peace before War

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, I noticed just now that this thing didn´t take other all of my cursive or bold skripts. Bugs me, but don´t know how to fix that.  
Hope you enjoy nether the less!  
And a leaving a review wouldn´t hurt, too...

5\. Peace before war

When Phantom finally stopped and sat him down in a small clearing near a river in the middle of a forest, Danny instantly hugged him. He didn´t know why but instead of yelling at him for kidnapping him or doing anything else, he was just so endless grateful that he finally had his ghost half, good and lovingly like always, back.   
Poor Phantom looked like a kicked puppy waiting for another kick and he was so bruised that he had managed to stay alive. Danny smacked himself in his mind for that: The ghost was already dead, so the only part of him that was able to die was he himself.   
Phantom flinched when Dannys warm arms wrapped around him and he was eternal thankful for having a human half like that. And his core fluttered, craving to embrace its other halves heart like in the old times when they had been one and the same. Finally being able to lift his arms himself, he embraced his human half.

They just stood there, silent and hugging. They had no idea how long it was but when Danny finally cleared his throat and stepped akwardly back, it was already dark.   
“Why did you do it?” his skyblue eyes were cold and Phantom shuttered under the pressure of it. Phantom acted innocent, but he knew on instant what his other half meant: “Do what?” “Take Plasmius and merge with him” said Danny cooly.   
Phantom nodded and sighed before answering: “We...we were in so much pain and...and you seperated to have the pain go away...but it only took you from me...and...”   
He sobbed and contiued while Danny listened quietly: “...and I thought it was only fair to have Vlad feeling the same pain...after all he seperated us...and I knew you would want me to stay away...but it felt so wrong only being half of me and I hoped to fill the hole you left with Plasmius...and...and...I never wanted any of this to happen! I can understand that you hate me now, for all I am is a dirty scum of ectoplasm which should be torn apart molecue by molecule!”   
Now there were tears streaming down the broken boy’s face and it just felt so painful and so wrong, Danny couldn´t help but feel sorry for him. He lifted his others half’s chin, so he had no other choice then to look in his eyes: “Listen, Phantom. I could never and will never hate you. What you did was wrong, but I can´t say it wasn´t my fault, too. Halfas have because their ghost half stronger emotions than normal humans and I hoped by seperating us we would both have to suffer less. And I can totally understand that you wanted to be complete again, to say the truth, I want it too. So stop being a crying mess and calm down for all of this shit is not your freaking fault, cause if it is anyones it`s mine!”   
Phantoms eyes were wide, before slowly the steady flood of tears stopped, and he managed to calm down enough to get his head shook. Danny smiled and hugged him before adding: “And don´t worry you´re not ectoplasmatic scum, you´re perfect as you are.” Phantom sobbed and nodded again, hugging his other half back.

0oOo0

Being the Ex-Billionare Vlad Masters had been in the last ten years no fun at all. Living half blind and crippled in the rests of his former lab with the only good thing being the old TV he had wanted to get rid off the day before it happened – Vald had sworn to never talk about it again – and barely passing by with the only fresh water being the river near his former home were clearly things no one would ever want.   
So the sad and lonely man had – like every single other day since it happened – walked with the waterbucket to the nearby river only to see the only person – well now he was two but still – he never thought he would see again.   
His bucket slipped from his hands before he could do anything else and alerting the two halves of his presence. Having a thousands and more thoughts running through his head at the same time was no fun at all, promise there, so he pressed the only clear words his old mind provided him with out: “D...Daniel? How is that possible?”

0oOo0

They only broke from it when they heard something hit the forest-ground. When they turned to look at the intruducer, they saw no other than Vlad Masters standing there gaping like a fish on dry land, next to him an emty waterbucket. “D...Daniel? How is that possible?” the man asked lookig shocked.   
His clothes were ripped, he was barefoot and had one eye covered. But the other one was big with wonder and disbelieve and apperantly undescribable joy. Danny smiled, while Phantom growled a little, having a major grudge against the man that seperated him from his human half.   
Danny elbowed him slightly, showing him to start smiling, too, and stepped forward to greet Vlad properly: “Hey Vlad! Long time no see, I guess?” “H...How...?” muttered Vlad in complete and utterly disbelief. Then he shook his head, catching himself: “Here is neither the timeor place to discuss such matters.” The man picked the bucket up and motiened the boys to follow him.

0oOo0

And when they sat down Danny started to tell his story, only leaving Valeries secret out including Sam. When he ended, Vlad sat there, deep in thought. Suddenly his eyes darted up and he watched Danny moving slightly under his cold look. Phantom had said nothing, only glaring at Vlad from time to time, while watching him closely.   
“And what about Samantha? How is she? Have you talked to her?” asked Vlad out of the blue, catchig ghost and boy out off guard.   
Phantoms green eyes widened, and he instantly looked ready to take off: “Sam is alive?!” “Well, kind of” corrected Danny, blushing slightly. “She is as alive as ghosts can be.”   
“You have talked to her?!” asked Phantom looking betrayed. Danny sheeplishly rubbed the back of his head, while his blush darkened: “Well, yeah. WE had a quite long time to share and...uh...and...” “What AND!?” snapped Phantom now really mad.   
“Shesaidshelovedmeandwekissed” Danny rambled down now as red as a tomato. Phantoms fury dropped, now he looked dumfolded while Vlad snickered silently to himself. “W...what? Would you mind repeating that?” the Ghostboy almost pleaded.   
Danny shook his head, so Phantom just asked in disbelief: “Sam said she loves us?” When no answer came, he continued: “You said the same to her, too, didn´t you?” Dannys blush went a shade darker while Phantom finished: “AND YOU TWO KISSED?!”   
Danny nodded and muttered something about “missing”, “hormones” and other excuses while Phantom cut him off: “How could you kiss her without me being there?! You traitor!”   
Now that was enough to piss even Danny off: “Uh, traitor you say? Then just look in a mirror for once, Mr. Perfect! We would have loved to invite you BUT you were unfortunately too busy to destroy the town!”   
Phantom took a surprised step back, eyes wide, looking hurt: “That was low, Danny. Really low, even for you.” Danny just glared athim while Vlad decided that this point needed a change of topics and turned the TV on.

Only to catch the news-channel which announced that Plasmius had attacked whole Amity Park and defeated every Ghosthunter except Valerie, but her odds looked really not in her favour.   
The boys` eyes went wide when they saw what chaos he already had done.   
Then suddely Plasmius appeared in front of the camera and grinned evily: “Dear little badger, if you don´t decide to show up soon, I´m afraid that I´ll have to kill every single citizen of beloved Amity Park...” he sent a streight hit at Valerie who wasn´t able to dodge it this time on time.   
Plasmius flew to her and grapped her, smiling cruely: “...starting with her.” Valerie shook her head fast: “No, Danny, don´t...” but before she could end, Plasmius cut her off: “I give you an hour.” And the screen went white.

0oOo0

“Aunt Sam? Why is Momma on the TV?” asked a distressed toddler. “She is fine, don´t worry” Sam assured, not really looking happy herself.   
Jason eyed her, before turning the TV off and announcing he was sleepy and going to catch a nap. Fastly he rushed in his room while Sam looked confused after him.

0oOo0

“We have to go back...” Danny started, only to have Phantom to continue: “...and save the city...” “...now” they ended together.   
Vlad looked a little creeped out by that but decided not to question it. He stood up and smiled: “So, now I´ll just get the gear to get you two back together and then you are allowed to do some majour ghost-butt-kicking.”   
The two halves eyed eachother before shaking their head. “No, there is no time for this...” started Phantom and Danny continued: “...we have to go now or else it will be too late...” “...and I don´t want to be back together with someone like him.” They ended together.  
Vlad sighed sad and shook his head: “Are you sure, Daniel?” Danny nodded with grim expression: “I am.” Phantom looked hurt again, but Danny ignored it: “We go, now.” “Fine” hissed Phantom and grabbed the boy harshly, flying out on top speed.   
Vlad looked after them, worried for his little badger. “I´ve got such a bad feeling...” he muttered, before making a decision with consequences.


	6. 6. Saving the city

6\. Saving the city

When the clocktower struck midnight, Plasmius red eyes narrowed and he hissed: “He´s late.” Valerie stopped struggeling with her chains and shot him a disbelieving look: “You didn´t really think he would come, did you? No one would be so stupid and run into their own death with seeing eyes...”   
“Well, he would if it meant saving others” Plasmius answered annoyed. Valerie voice huffed angered: “...that´s another thing, I mean at least I have warned him. I meant except mean ectoplasmatic scum like you, just to safe your pride.” “Just shut up already” Plasmius growled.   
“Whatever you say, Plasmius, whatever you say” Valerie grinned and started struggling again. Plasmius eyed the clock, killing it with his looks. Anger boiled in him dangerosly, then he screamed frustrated: “DANNY PHANTOM! WHERE ARE YOU?” 

Then a voice piped up behind him: “Right behind you, fruitloop.” And when the Ghost turned and saw the teen floating behind him in all of the old times glory. Plasmius smiled cruelly: “Ah, little badger. I knew you would come. It so nice to see you again.” Phantom rolled his eyes: “Can´t say the same for me.” “Again the witty banter? That´s getting lame, boy” Plasmius mocked. The kid grinned and summoned ectoplasma up in the palm of his hands: “Can say the same for me, fruitloop.” And the fight began. 

0oOo0

“Jason? You okay?” asked Sam when she stepped into the the room of the boy. She saw his small form under the bedsheet and smilled softly. “You don´t have to worry. Your mother is fine and...”   
When she reached to ruffle his hair, she sunk into his head. Her eyes widened with shocked and a suspicion grabbed her insides and twisted them cruelly. In a fluid motion she grabbed the bedsheet and flung them aside only to grasp in horror.   
His stuffed animals were sorted in his form and the boy was gone.   
Sam cursed. She growled with anger and worry boiling in her. “If I get you, you can bet to be grounded until you´re old and grey!”

0oOo0

Valeries eyes were wide while she watched the fight. “Oh man, Danny” she muttered. “You´re such an idiot. You shouldn´t have come back.”   
“But who would be able to save the damsel in distress then?” a mocking voice asked from behind her. Valeries eyes went wide with confusion, then with fear when her chains fell open to the ground.   
She spun around and grabbed the smaller boy by his shoulders, shaking him: “Danny?! What the hell are you doing?! Why didn´t you merge instanly together?! This is dangerous!” “But worth it” said Danny, cutting her rambling off and freeing himself from her strong grip.   
“Don´t worry I´ve got a plan.” “You´re such an idiot” said Valerie facepalming. “That´s why we´re friends” grinned Danny and sprinted away: “Come on, we have to help the others!” Valerie only groaned in annoyance before rushing after him.  
The boy slipped around a corner only to be greeted with the view of an open natural ghost-portal where dozens of ghosts came out. Valerie came to a stop next to him and cursed. Danny fastly caught himself and announced: “All right, change of plans, I take the ghosts, you the citizens.”   
“Oh no, you don´t” corrected Valerie. “You´ll stay hidden and free the citizens and I fight the ghosts.” “Why?” complained Danny. Valerie gave him an are-you-serious-look and shut him effectful off: “Easy, Plasmius still things it´s completely you up there, so you have to stay hidden. So now, go!”   
Danny huffed but didn´t complain for he knew she was right. They nodded and the boy rushed away while Valarie drew two Ectoguns out and aimed them on the outcoming ghosts: “Okay, ectoplasmatic scum, time to play.” 

0oOo0

Jason toddled through the streets, careful to avoid anything looking suspicious. He had to find his Mom and help her! His green eyes dartened around when suddenly he heard a small whimper.   
His brows furrowed together when he saw the reason of it. It was a ghost, a girl, in a green glowing cage. She looked hurt and scared, but when she saw him approach, she quickly hid it and whispered: “Hey, cheese-head! I need a little help.”   
The boy slowly neared her wearing a curious expression: “But you´re a ghost. Why don´t you go intangibly through it.” The girl looked annoyed and groaned: “Okay cheesy, this is an ectplasmatic cage. I can´t go through that. Understood? It´s glowing. And now free me or I might consinder hitting you with a boxed set of doomed cornflakes, I promise you, that hurts.”   
The boy giggled: “You´re funny. I´m not afraid of cornflakes, I eat them.” The ghost growled and a package of glowing cornflakes hit the boy at the back of his head. The boy whimpered and rubbed the sore spot.   
Then he glared at her: “Hey, that hurt!” She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. “It´s not like I didn´t warn you. And now get me out of here!”  
Jason looked like he would consider that. He watched the caged ghost. He liked her brown-reddish hair she was wearing in two pigtails but was freaked out by her red eyes and glowing green skin.   
“Look, not all ghosts are evil! Often, we simply don´t have a choice!” she pleaded. “Then why are you caged?” The boy asked. The girl smiled softly: “´cause I don´t agree with the things he did and my parents caged me to keep me safe in order not to try and stop him while they are fighting. I wanna help, I swear!”   
Her pleading look was enough to get the boy into motion. Qickly he summoned up some ectolasma in his right hand and broke the chain and opened the cage door. With a whoop the girl flew out only to stop and turn to the boy again. “Thanks...you´re cool” she said, her red eyes softening.   
Jason smiled widely: “Always happy to help. I´m Jason, by the way.” The girl nodded and said calm: “Box-Lunch. Thank you, Jason, again. I bet we´ll meet again.” Then she sped up to fly away. Jason watched her fly and smiled: “I hope we do!” Then he contiued his search for his mother, not knowing about the big smile on his new friend’s face.

0oOo0

Phantom dodged and jumped and fought back while exchanging witty banters with Plasmius. The older ghost grinned evily: “Have you already lost your touch, boy?” Phantom rolled his eyes: “Yeah, you should ask that to yourself, fruitloop.” Another exchange of hits when suddenly one of Plasmius Ghostbirds flew to him and sat down on his shoulders, whispering something in the ghost’s ear.   
Plasmius red eyes widened before he dodged another blast of the boys attack: “Oh I see. You never merged back together. It´s still just little pathetic Phantom I´m fighting.”   
This distracted the ghost boy long enough for Plasmius to take a direct hit at the boy. The teen was pushed hard back into a building which started to colapse and trap him. His eyes widened with horror when Plasmius flew down to him, grinning like mad: “Now you´re going to pay. We merge back together and that was it with the world. And you´ll never be free again...”   
“Don´t you dare to touch the boy!” another voice interupted and Plasmius was blown back by the force of an ectoplasma-bazooka. Vlad stood calm, still the smoking gun in his hands. His eye searched for the green ones and he smiled kindly: “I would suggest you to get out of here and help the others while I take care of this fruitloop over here.”   
The teens eyes lit up for a second and he phased through the stones holding him. But then his face darkened, and he shook his head: “Don´t, Vlad. You are no match for him.”   
Vlad’s eyes held courage: “It´s time to correct things, Phantom. I´ve made lots and lots of mistakes and now I came here to do for once the right thing. I suggest you to do the same thing, or it might be too late.” Phantom nodded: “I promise.”   
He turned to fly away, but then stopped and smiled facing the old man one more time: “And Vlad? You´re okay.” The man nodded and the teen flew away.  
Then he turned to the ghost who slowly got up again. His red eyes glowed dangerously, and he growled: “You!”   
“Yeah, me” said Vlad in matter of fact. Plasmius was furious: “I should have killed you instantly!” Vlad shrugged: “I know. But some mistakes will take time to correct.”   
Plasmius growled: “How about now?” Vlad aimed his bazooka once more at him: “Accepted.”

0oOo0

Danny quickly cut with his knife through the net holding the small family. As soon as there was an opening, the man grabbed his small daughter and he and his wife ran out to hide without hesistating another second.   
Danny grimaced and yelled after them: “Yeah, no problem! It was a pleasure. Like always.” “It will be the last one” a deep voice behind him growled. Danny quickly spun around to face the ghost. Both pairs of eyes widened, and both yelled at the same time: “You!”   
Fright Knight growled angrily: “Won´t I ever be able to get rid of you?! You´re such a menance!” Danny rolled his eyes: “Gee, thanks, those are flowers you can have back with pleasure.”   
The Ghost attacked. Danny blocked the sword with his knive, stumbling back. When Fright Knight charged for another attack, the boy was only barely able to avoid it. “You´ve gotten weak boy. You should get better equipment” the ghost mocked.   
Danny rolled his eyes: “And you should get an Afterlife. And a pumpkin.” The ghost growled, now furious. Way too fast for human eye he charged forward and struck with his sword. 

0oOo0

They sat at the table in the Nasty Burger and Mr. Lancer scolded Danny because of his cheating for the CAT. His parents and Jazz looked beyond mad and Tucker and Sam only disapointed.   
When suddenly his ghost-sense went off, he excused himself and rushed to the toilets. After fighting the Box Ghost, Technus and Skulker and being chased around by Valerie, he tiredly flew back, just in time to see the Nasty Burger explode in front of his eyes, killing everybody in it. He screamed.

0oOo0  
“...anny...Danny!” He shot up from his worst nightmare, only to see Sam - or better Sams Ghost – holding him close and trying to shake him awake.   
He quickly whipped his tears away and looked around, confused. In the corner of the alley he saw Fright Knights Sword stuck in a pumpkin. “...how long...?” he started, seeing her tearstrained face.   
“Just a minute” she whispered, her voice trembling. “I came just in time to see him hit you. What did you see?” He tried to avoid her eyes while he whispered: “Nasty Burger.”   
She whimpered, knowing too well what he meant. Then she gave him a kiss, calming him down again: “Don´t wory, I´m here. I´m fine. Don´t worry.”   
He slowly nodded and Sam helped im to stand up. Her face went dark: “But now first and foremost, we have to find Jason. He ran away to find his mother.” Danny nodded and the two sped away for searching and helping. 

0oOo0

Valerie knew it should have ended when her gun suddenly decided to stop working, but luckily the attaking ghost was blasted away. Valerie couldn´t help but smile: “Phantom! I didn´t think I would ever say that, but I´m glad to see you. Is Plasmius defeated?” Phantoms face darkened and he shook his head: “Vlad´s fighting him to buy us time. I don´t know for how long though he will last. We have to close the portal.” His expression was grim but Valerie couldn´t help but notice that he himself was still only a teen.   
A ghost, yes, but also a teen. She couldn´t really blame him for what had happend while he was merged with Plasmius.   
The ghosts surrounding them sneered. Phantom glared and tossed her another ectogun. Then they stood back to back. “You ready?” asked Phantom.Valerie pressed her lips together and nodded: “You bet I am.” And the ghosts attacked.

0oOo0

Jason went around a corner, when he suddenly bumped into something giantic and furry. The ghostly bear growled and turned and the boy’s eyes went wide whith fear when the monsters shadow fell on him.


	7. 7. Fight

7\. Fight

Blast for blast hit for hit, the ghosts kept coming. When one went down, two went after, until suddenly one of them, a giantic one looking like a green bear, held a struggling captive. Valeries eyes widened with horror: “Jason!”   
The ghost smiled cruelly: “Ah, I see this kid seems very important for you. One move and he´s dead.” Jasons small green eyes widened with fear and he stopped struggling while Valeries body trembeled. Phantom growled and seemed ready to attack, but Valerie stopped him with her pleading eyes: “Don´t. He´ll hurt him.”   
Phantoms eyes widened with understandment. “...your son...?” He muttered quietly and Valerie nodded sad.   
Suddenly a green bur tackled the giantic ghost and freed the boy sweeping him back to his mother. Phantom instantly used the following confusion and attacked the monster.   
It was a girl, a ghost, not older than Jason that had saved the Red Huntress´ son. Valerie quickly hugged her son as soon as he was lowered to her height. The boy hugged his distressed mother and turned then to his ghostly saviour: “Thanks, Box-Lunch.” The girl smiled kindly before saying: “Now are we even. And like I said not all ghosts are evil, Jason.” The boy nodded and the girl saluted, flying away again.   
Phantom flew back to mother and son and landed softly: “Who was that?” Valerie turned and smiled at him: “You should know, you were right. Not all ghosts are evil.”   
Phantoms eyes widened with cofusion, then he started to grin: “Ha! Did everyone hear that?! I was right! Red has finally admitted it!” Valerie growled and got another Ecto-gun out: “Just because I agreed with you, that doesn´t mean I still won´t blast you into the next week. Danny´s other half or not.”   
Phantom flinched, but then his eyes locked on the trembling child, who muttered something about his mother finally being safe again. “And who might you be, little guy?” Phantom smiled softly, moving closer to the kid. The boy only struggeled closer to his mother, completely ignoring the teenage ghost.   
When he saw that contact wasn´t wanted, Phantom took a step back and eyed Valerie curious: “I´ve never thought you to be the mother-type, Valerie. How come? Danny never mentioned him.” Valerie bit her upper lip and looked away, while the child looked up to the stranger with the mention of his ´new uncles` name.   
When the two electric-green pairs of eyes met, Phantoms widened with horror. “No” he breathed and shook his head with shock and deny. He stumbeled two steps back until he felt the brick wall of the building behind him press in his back. “No” he continued to shake his head.   
Valerie’s eyes met with his and then he knew everything he had to. “I´m so sorry...so terribly sorry...” the now tremling ghost whispered. Valerie looked away while the curiousity of her son was awakened. He stared at the strange ghost who seemed to shudder with fear and deny.   
“I never intended to...Plasmius, he...oh shit...shit...I had no idea...Danny nver mentioned...” His gaze finally met Valeries again: “I´m so terribly sorry, Val...” Valerie bit her lip before she cut him off: “Don´t be. It´s not your fault, Phantom. You were just as much a victim then I was.”   
But Phantom shook his head, now clearly upset: “He freaking raped you! I did therefore, too! And...” “I know. But it´s past. People can change. And Danny made it clear that you didn´t have control right then. All those things...that wasn´t you. That was Plasmius work.” Valerie assured and showed again thet she was stronger than she looked.   
Phantom shook his head with horror: “I know what he did, Valerie. And I´m so sorry...I couldn´t fight him then...”   
“What are you two fighting about?” the curious voice of the child interupted them reminding the two that they weren´t alone. Jason looked troubled between the two older beings. “You don´t need to fight, really!”   
Phantom stared for a moment at the child who dared to interrupt him, before he smiled softly: “And who might you be, little guy?” The boy huffed at the `little` and answered: “I´m Jason Grey and I ain´t little!” Phantom couldn´t help himself and started to laugh. Seeing the electric green eyes and hearing the angry and proud comment, he coldn´t help but think of himself back when he was younger and complete.   
“Of course you aren´t” he grinned amused, but then his face hardened, and he turned to Valerie: “But first we have to blast the other ghosts into oblivion.” “Agreed” the huntress said and lowered her son back to the ground. Phantom nodded to himself: “Good, and while we fight you care to tell me what my traiterous other half decided NOT to mention besides Sam being a ghost and having a kid!” 

0oOo0

Sam blasted a ghost away while Danny worked with the broken ghost-shield-generator, trying to get the thing back to work. He cursed under his breath and hit the thing frustrated, only to get it finally back to work.   
He smiled with his little victory and then turned to Sam: “Okay, come on, we´re done here. Now we need to continue with the other streets.” Sam nodded and the lovebirds ran - or in Sams case flew – to the next street.   
Only to have Danny and Phantom collide with eachother.   
Phantom was instantly up again, while his human counterpart laid groaning and his head rubbing on the street. Then he looked up again and blinked confused: “Oh, you again.” Phantom narrowed his eyes with anger, then he flew forward and grabbed the teen by his collar: “Yeah, me again. So what the hell did you think not to mention Jason!?”   
Danny tried to free himself from his ghosts grasp, but when he got the message that this was useless, he sighed, before he answered: “Believe me or not, I would have loved to mention them, but I knew you were still hot-tempered because of Plasmius and...”   
Phantom growled: “Are you trying to imply I´m mental unstable?” Danny stared angrily at him before saying: “Yes. And it´s not like you didn´t keep things from me, right?”   
That did it.   
The next two minutes the two halves just yelled at eachother insults that are not allowed to be written down. Valerie kept silent and held her boys’ ears in order to protect him from the dirty language the teens used and finally Sam had enough and forced the two just to shut off with the help of her steel-toed combatboots she still – even as a ghost – wore.   
The boys glared at her but finally shut up. Sam smiled satisfied and then explained: “Thanks a lot, you idiots, for finally remembering your manners and that we still have a child in our presence. Plus...” She pointed into the sky were Plasmius currently was dodging Vlads shots. “...we have more serious issues right now than yelling at eachother headless.”   
The boys glared at eachother but then nodded. Valerie smiled softly and released her struggling sons ears so he could hear again. “Sweet” she agreed, thankful for the ghost’s temper.

Just then Vlad was thrown in a near building. The friends instantly rushed to the side of the man. His body was covered in bruises, burns and cuts and he was knocked out. Valerie lifted the man up and said almost casually: “Okay, he´s out cold.”   
The teens nodded, only her son asked curiously “Who´s he?” just to be ignored.   
“Okay, then it´s my turn. Meet me at the mainsquare” Phantom said and rose up to his enemy before anyone could comlain. The others nodded and Valerie and Danny picked Vlad up while Sam took Jason. And so they went to the meetingpoint, where a crowd of curious people was already formed.   
Just then they heard a shrill cry. “You stay here” ordered Danny and rushed without further discussion back into the small sidestreets of Amity Park, while in sky above him Phantom and Plasmius faught a bloody battle. 

0oOo0

A young redheaded man wearing glasses with freckless was trapped under some loose stones which had crashed down from a near building was the reason of the noice. Danny quickly lifted the stones from his legs away while the men wimpered. When he was finally freed, Danny asked carefully: “You okay?”   
The man groaned and opened one eye, giving the boy the “Are-you-serious” look. Danny winced: “Sorry, standart question.” Just then seemed the man to recognize the boy: “F...Fenton?”   
Danny blinked and looked confused: “Do I know you?” The men sat up and nodded: “Sure, sure! We were together in some classes. You might remember me, it´s Mikey.”   
Danny nodded surprised: “Oh...okay, sorry.” His gaze went to the mens legs: “Can you move them?”   
Mikey slowly tried to move them and hissed in pain when he did so. They were of course bruised and the left one was in a strange angle, seemly broken. “Can you stand up? We have to get back to the mainsquare. It´s not save here.” said Danny.   
Mikey nodded and pressed his teeth together and with of Danny he stood up again. “Keep talking” suggested Danny, while they slowly started to walk back. “It helps to keep your mind from the pain.” “What was your name again? David? Dale? Dante?” the man asked pressed.   
“Danny” the teen stated simply. “Yeah...that was it. Danny Fenton...how come you´re still so young?” Mikey asked his former classmate. “I was frozen in some lab in hope for waking up in a better time...without being asked if I even wanted it” Danny answered.   
“I see...” started Mikey but got cut off by the sound of one of Plasmius blasts hitting the buiding next to them. Danny instantly recognized the danger of the groaning and cracking building and pushed the older man out of the danger zone: “Watch out!”   
Mikey tumbeled on the ground and heard the sickening sound of crashing stones. Ignoring the pain he quickly pushed himself up, horror written all over his face when he saw the big pile of stones covering the ground where he stood only seconds ago.   
“D...Danny?!” he asked almost panicked. A few seconds nothing else besides the fighting sounds of Plasmius and Phantom was heard, then a groan cut through the silence. Mikeys eyes widened behind his now broken glasses: “Danny? You okay?!”   
After a few seconds which felt like hours the teen finally answered the worried man: “I´m okay, no worries there. Just I´m stuck. Get someone to get me out and everything will be fine.” Mikey nodded and hinked – as fast as he could – back to the mainsquare to get help.

0oOo0

“Haha, you missed!” mocked Phantom. Plasmius growled and charged to attack again. He threw a poerful blast of pink ectoplasma at the boy...only to find him catching it. Phantom stared amazed at this new aspect of his powers and grinned wide: “Scadosh, Plasmius, i would say Game Over.”   
Then he poured his own ectoplasmic energy in the ball and threw it back at the older ghost who was thrown back by the explosion of the impact, not able to fight back anymore. He crashed into an almost collapsed building on a sidestreet which collapsed and made the stones burry him underneath them. When the smoke was gone so it seemed Plasmius was finally gone, too.   
The crowd beneath him started to cheer, the tyran was finally gone! Phantom whooped with joy and made a flip, then he lowered himself back to the ground where he was greeted by his waiting friends. The cheered, too, and it was just amazing, knowing to never have to be afraid again. Phantom smiled widely: He did it! Now was everything finally going to be alright forever!

Just then he saw that one person was missing. “Guys, where is Danny?” he asked, a bad feeling nagging in the back of his mind. Sam paled, and the crowd started to silence. Valerie looked worried: “Strange. He wanted to follow us shortly after...”   
Just then a redheaded man hinked out of the sidestreet where he had just thrown Plasmius to. When the man saw the crowd, he instantly started to yell: “We have to help him! He´s trapped and...”   
Sam rushed to him, the man stared shocked at the ghost coming to him: “Who, Mikey? Who is trapped?!” When he found his voice again, Mikey announced the grave news: “F…Fenton...”  
And a sickening laugh cut through the silence that was left after this news, followed by a muffled cry.


	8. 8. Finale

8\. Finale

Every face turned to the reason of the noice and what they saw, forced their eyes to go wide. Plasmius floated there, grinning like a maniac, holding Danny by the collar of his suit and holding a knive on his throat.   
“No, Danny!” screamed Sam, only to be held back by Valerie: “Don´t! Or he might kill Danny!” On the ground Jason whimpered and cuddeled searching for comfort closer to the unconscious Vlad.   
The two ghosts everyone was now watching lowered themselves to the ground, Phantom standing protecting in front of the citizens of Amity Park. He growled and tooka step forward: “Let. Him. Go.”   
“Or what?” mocked the older ghost, then lunked Phantom forward, but Plasmius only presed his knive harder against the boys throat: “One step closer, Phantom, and your human is dead.” Phantom instantly stopped dead in his tracks and stared with pure hate on the older ghost.   
Plasmius smiled cruelly: “Amazing, he´s able to finally cooperate!” Phantom growled, but wasn´t able to do much else. Then the older ghost continued: “Now that you´ve calmed down, we can talk. I suggest you, that you obey me, and we merge back together, or else...”   
Some blood started to run down on the knives blade, while Danny furiously shook his head: “No, don´t...!” “SHUT UP!” yelled Plasmius and interrupted so the boy’s plea, in addition he hit the boy on the back of his head. Danny glared at him with pure hate while Phantom winced and muttered “sorry” to his human half.   
“So...” continued Plasmius calmly as if nothing ever had happened. “...you see, it´s a great trade! We get to be one again and the boy will live. Got it?” Phantom looked around and sa the scared and angered faces of the citizens he had sworn to protect: “But what about Amity Park? Valerie? Sam? They will all die by our hands if I obey. I can´t let that happen.”  
Even when he was still in Plasmius grasp, Danny smiled softly. Phantom seemed to have understood that Danny would love to sacrifize himself if that meant that Amity and the world would live. Just the Plasmius hardened his grip around the boy and growled: “I´m waiting...”

Phantom stared at Dannys – his human halfs – pleading sky-blue eyes not to do such a thing. He just couldn´t let him die! Finally he found his voice again: “You´ll not haunt Amity Park ever again. You´ll let them all live peaceful. You´ll not hurt Sam, Valerie, Vlad, Jason, or anyone we know. You´ll not touch Danny or let ever again come any harm his way...” Plasmius interupted him now furoius: “You´re not in the position to give orders!” But Phantom continued unimpressed: “...and I´ll merge wih you. You can do whatever you please with the rest of the world and you´ll never even know I am there. But you´ll never harm any citizen of Amty. And especially not Danny. Danny is never to be harmed by anyone or anything. Deal?”   
His gaze was neutral and Plasmius looked surprised for a minute before e caught himself: “The world for Amity and this boy? Deal. Amity can do whatever it pleaces and will be left in peace and the boy will not be harmed by anyone or anything ever again. We´ll do a Ghost-Swear. Are you fine with that?” “No!” yelled Danny. “Ghost-Swear accepted” said Phantom ignoring his human-halfs plea.   
Ghost-Swears can never be broken by one side without giantic consequenzes for the side that broke it. And there is no way to back away from it after it was closed. And that´s exatly what the two ghosts just did.

Plasmius threw his knive away and sat Danny gently down. Phantom rushed to the boy and hugged him, tears in his eyes: “I´m sorry...Danny...I´m so sorry...I never meant to...what I said was mean and wrong...sorry...” “Don´t be” interupted his human half and he gently hugged his ghost half back.   
They were so close to eachother that their parts of soul seamed to scream for the other to be reconnected. But before anything like that could happen Phantom let go, already feeling the pull of the Ghost-Swear, which definitely not agreed to have him rejoin with his human half, even if he now, that all differences were sorted out, finally would be able to.   
He slowly drew away and smiled sadly at his human half: “Don´t worry Danny. It´ll be alright. Now you can go and fullfill all our dreams. Be with Sam together, finally gt to e an Astronaut. No one will stop you, no one will hurt you ever again. You´re free. Go, live your life. Live it full and happy, as if I were with you.” “And you?” wispered Danny. “I´ll be fine, too” assured Phantom and his mind he added “I hope.”   
Danny hugged him again and they were so close, that for a second their mind reconnected. They felt all the pain and sadness the other felt, but for moment the world was fine again.   
Then the Ghost-Swear violently cut through their connection and doubled it´s pressure on Phantom. Both halves shuddered and then the human teen started to cry, too: “That wasn´t worth it. I´m not worth it. The world shouldn´t suffer for me...” “...but you shouldn´t suffer for the world” Phantom interupted. “You already did enough. So that´s the deal: No one or anything will ever harm you ever again.”   
A spark of an idea glimmered in Danny´s eyes. Phantom didn´t see it. He slowly let go from his human half: “Goodbye...Danny.”   
Then he turned to face Plasmius: “I´m ready for my end of the deal. Let´do this.” Plasmius only grinned evily and offered his hand to the younger ghost. Phantom took it and instanly felt how his strengh - how he – slowly started to dissolve and to merge with Plasmius.

Sam stepped next to the lost looking Danny, tears in her eyes: “That´s just wrong. This should never have happened. Oh, what should we do just now. The tyrany of the world will continue and Amity alone will not be strong enough to fight back alone. This is just...wrong.”   
Behind them they heard Mikey comfort Valerie who held her crying son: “Don´t worry, Valerie. Now we are safe at least. He´s no going to hurt us, or he would break the Swear.”   
And with that the idea caught fire.   
Dannys face brightened up: “That´s it! He can´t hurt Amity Park. And I can´t be hurt by anyone! Even myself or it would break the deal!”   
Sam looked confused: “Danny...?” Then he suddenly grabbed her and kissed her passionally. When they broke up, Sam looked shocked: “D...Danny? Please tell me, you don´t plan to do what I think you want to do!”   
His bright sky-blue eyes shone with courage: “Don´t question whatever I do I love you and I always will. But I can´t allow the world to be destroyed because of this.”   
Terror was written all over Sams face when he casually picked the knive up Plasmius had thrown away. Then he slowly got the left arm of his suit up and cut himself with the knive before anyone could do anything else. 

0oOo0

Phantom watched his body slowly started to fade and sighed. He felt his powers forcefully be drained from him and he watched Plasmius appereance turn in an alarming speed back into the picture of Dan Phantom.   
He sighed again, but then he suddenly heard Sams paniked screams: “Danny, don´t! Please stop!” And for a moment the draining of him by the Ghost-Swear stopped, only to continue with the same speed.   
He turned to look, but he couldn´t, he was almost gone...he summoned up his last recourses and turned his head, only to see Danny cut himself for a third time. Blood already ran down in big floods.   
Panic shot through the ghost-half! He had to stop his human half! But Plasmius just grabbed his hand harder and started to drain more energy from the younger ghost: “No, you don´t...we have to finish this. Because once we´re one, I am not bounded to the Swear. You can´t have a swear with yourself, see? I´ll start destroying the world with your beloved city...and this boy. Hopefully there will be something left of this foolish child when we are ready.”   
Phantoms eyes widened, as did the ones of the citizens. “You...monster” pressed Phantom out and Plasmius only drained him harder.

To this revealation Danny knew he wouldn´t have another choice. His cuts were not enough to break the Swear in time. He rose the knive up to his chest and felt Sam grab him pleadingly: “Please don´t!”   
“I have no other choice!” he yelled. “I´m sorry!”   
And he stabbed himself forcefully in his own chest.

Phantom saw his form disappear, while having to watch Plasmius turning into the monster the world feared. A small tear ran down his almost dissolved cheek. He sighed and cried silently.   
Gone, gone was the hero. He was reduced to what he really was: The pityful ghost of a teenager.   
The world swam before his eyes, when suddenly Sams desperate cry of “Danny, don´t!” cut through the silence. He turned to look but he couldn´t see, he was almost gone...  
But no! No he couldn´t give up now! He had to fight! Something was wrong with his human half, he had to help him. HE HAD TO SAVE HIM!   
“No you don´t!” he heard Plasmius angry yell, trying to finish the smaller ghost. Phantom collected everything he still had and yelled: “You promised nothing would hurt him!”  
And then hell broke loose.  
Phantom suddenly felt all of his energy rush back to him, his sight cleared and with force he ripped his hand from Plasmius grasp. The older ghost stared at him wide eyed, horror written all over his face when suddenly the tables turned.   
Phantom summoned up a giantic ectoblast in his palmes: “You´ve sworn nothing would happen to him, look what happened!” Plasmius stumbeled back, before he suddenly screamed in pain. Phantom stared at him, for a moment shocked, when suddenly the red eyed ghost started to disapper. “The ghost swear...it´s broken...” whispered one of the watching ghosts, fear clenched obvoisly every core.   
“NO!!!” yelled Plasmius and then he was gone. Endless relief flooded Phantoms core and he smiled softly.   
But then he remebered something important: “DANNY!”

Sam held sobbing Dannys trembling hand, ignoring the forming puddle of blood she was in. When Phantom flew to the lowers his week human half eyed him weakly, smiling sofly: “We...we did it...Phantom...” He coughed, almost drowning in his own blood.   
Phantoms core clenched with fear and pain: “No, no, no, Danny. Stay here, it´s okay, it´s over. It´s gonna be alright. You did it! You defeated Plasmius! Now you only have to survive, hear me?”   
Danny nodded weakly and turned to the crying Sam: “I...I love you...I always will...” The ghost nodded, turning into a sobbing mess: “I love you, too.” And they shared a last passionate kiss. Dannys eyes glazed and he turned to Phantom: “I...I´m sorry...for everything...you´re the best ghost half somebody could have...” “And you´re the best human half I could have wished for! You should never have done this! Never sacrifized yourself, never...” sobbed Phantom. Danny cut im with a shaky breath off: “I wish...things were different...but now it´s okay...everyone...is...save...” Phantom sobbed and embraced his dying human half. Things happened that never should have... “Take care…of Sam…I´m sorry...goodbye...”  
Phantom just cried, never he had felt so helpless, so human since he had been seperated from his human half. And then he felt the last dieing pull towards the other part of his soul, towards his human half. And with pleasure he let go, his form dissolving into a glowing mist, settling into his dieing body.  
The two halves of his soul greeted each other with pleasure, mended the rip between them, merging back into one, finally together again.  
Danny Fenton let go of his last breath, a peaceful smile on his lips.


	9. 9. Who you are (The other half of him)

9\. Who you are (The other half of him)

Silence fell over the world whenever they recalled what had happened. Sadness, fear relief, every single emotion was there.   
The cityzens of Amity Park just stood there and watched hearts heavy with sadness, seeing that their hero had died.  
The ghosts just floated there and kept silent thinking about how much they had misjudged their halfa hero who had in the end given his life for all of them besides of how they had treated him.  
Mikey held the sobbing mess called Valerie crying himself. The small ghostgirl Box-Lunch hugged small halfa Jason, searching for comfort by her only friend. Vlad carefully approached Sam. After waking up in this mess not knowing what to do, he decided it was the best to try and help the brokenhearted ghostgirl. Sam still held on to her only and true love, glowing tears flowing for once without shame. 

0oOo0

Danny blinked. One, two, three times. Then he slowly sat up, holding his aching chest. “W...what happeed? What hit me?” he muttered and struggeled to stand up.   
Suddenly a voice cut through the silence: “Ah Mr. Fenton, I see you are awake.” Dannys eyes widened until it looked like they almost popped out of his head: “Mr...Mr. Lancer?! What are you doing here?” The older man smiled softly: “Better question Mr. Fenton: What are you doing here?”   
“You´re the one who´s dead!” “And what does a living being like you do in deaths realm?” countered the dead englishteacher. Danny paled and muttered: “I guess you´re right.”   
“Of course I am, Daniel. That´s why I am the teacher and you are the student” the bald man softly explained. The teen muttered something about “It´s Danny” but otherwise kept silent as if waiting for the older man to continue.   
After some silence Lancer finally continued: “Oh, I wished you would always have listened like that in my lessons. It would have spared both of us many detentions. But what about Ms. Manson? She must be devasted for you to visit us here.”   
“I´m not just visiting” whispered Danny. “I think I actually died. But it was the only thing to do to stop Plasmius.”   
Lancer smiled softly and placed a and on his students’ shoulder: “Listen, Daniel. You – unlike us- have a choice. Use it wisely. I always knew you were different, but I mean it´s good for all I know you are a hero. I was so strict because I wanted to get the best out of you. I believe in you, Mr. Fenton. And that is the reason why I didn´t come back.” The smiling man slowly faded away leaving an utterly confused teen behind.

0oOo0

“Smile!”   
“Okay, I showed you the portal, can we get out of here now? My parents could be back here any minute. Besides, they say it doesn´t even work anyway.”   
“Come on, Danny. A Ghost Zone? Aren´t you curious? You gotta check it out!”   
“You know what? You´re right. Who knows what kind of awesome, super-cool things exist on the other side of the portal?”   
“Hang on... You can´t go walking around in something like that on your chest.”   
“Aaaah!”

0oOo0

Danny stared at the fading memories before his eyes and smiled softly. That was the moment when his normal life was over. But now when he looked at it again, he wasn´t so sure anymore if it really had been for the better.   
“You´re questioning yourself again, dude. Don´t” A very familiar voice behind him said. Danny spun around before he could even register the words and tackeled his best friend in a big hug to the ground.   
His Afro-American friend grasped for air in the tight embrace and chocked: “...missed you...too...no breath...”   
“Sorry” Danny quickly let go of his best friend. Tucker slowly managed to get to his feet and fished his beloved PDA out of his trouserpocket. He inspected it carefully and breathed a sigh of relieve when he found it still intact. This familiar action caused his best friend to chuckle quietly.  
Tucker glared at him: “Don´t. Do. That. Ever. Again. Do you know how impossible it is to get anything new in Deaths realm? Until I decide to move on, there´s no way to get my beloved Amanda repaired!”   
Danny snorted at the ridicoulus action of his friend. It felt so good to know he was well and it was even better to have him around again. But then his face fell again: “Tuck, why didn´t you come back. Sam did, why not...?”   
Tucker cut him off: “Because she could without her ending in a malovent ghost. She still had an unfinished business, namely you, and her obsession is because of that you.” “ME?!” Danny blinked in surprise. “Yes, you” Tucker continued. “I don´t have an unfinished business to take care off and if I would go back, my obsession would have been technology. I doubt you would have wanted another Technus you would have to fight and I personally don´t ever want to fight you.”   
Danny groaned at the mental image and shook his head: “Okay, I get it, thanks Tuck. But how do you know all that?” Tucker smiled softly: “I had a really long talk with Death. He as by the way the one who wanted me to stay a little longer in his realm. I bet he already knew you would come and need some help one day. After this talk I´ll most likely move on to my next life. So... This is most likely our last talk. But at least now I´ve been able to say properly goodbye. Last time I didn´t really have the time.”   
The best friends hugged each other tearfully. Tucker found the strengh to add some more words: “We´ll meet again. And in the next life I´m pretty sure we´ll be best buds again. And this time forever. But for now, goodbye and don´t let yourself down. You unlike me have a choice. I know you´ll choose right.”   
Slowly Tucker started to fade, leaving Danny not enough time to properly say everything he wanted to. “I´ll always be your best friend, I believe in you” the techgeek finished, leaving his friend alone to cry after him: “I´ll be always your best friend, too, Tucker! Thank you for everything!”

0oOo0

“Hey, kids come down and look. The portal is ready.”   
“Uhh...what is that exactly?”   
“It´s a ghost portal, sweety. With this invention we´ll be able to break through the dimension and create a gateway to the Ghost Zone. We`ll be able to...”   
“You´re still going there?! Ghosts don´t exist, so stop planting those stupid ideas in this innocent and clueless teenagers mind! Don´t worry, little bro, I´ll protect you from their crazyness.”   
“Uhh...thanks, Jazz?”   
“Are you ready, Jack?”   
“Ready when you are, Madds. BONZAI!”   
“...”   
“Typical. I already knew that something like that is impossible. And now excuse me I´m going to room writing about that in my journal.”   
“...why? Why didn´t it work?”   
“...I don´t know. Maybe we´ve calculated something wrong...”   
“But that´s impossible! We´ve gone over everything ten times!”   
“Maybe...maybe...all those years were for nothing...our biggest achievement...nothing...”   
“Don´t say that, Madds. Let´s just go upstairs for now and get some fudge...I need that now...”

0oOo0

“I never knew that we really did look like obsessed morons” commented a female voice. The next thing Danny knew was being almost hugged to death by his parents. His eyes were wide with joy and he quickly hugged them back: “Mom! Dad! You´re here, too!”   
After some time his parents released him and looked proud at him. “Hey, Danny-o” Jack said happily why Maddie lovingly brushed with her fingers some strains of hair from her sons face: “Just look at you. How far you´ve come, sweety. I remember when you were so small and...” She breathed out, sappy tears finding their way down her cheeks.  
Danny hated seeing his mother cry: “It´s okay, Mom, I missed you both, too.” Without more words to spare they hugged again. When they released eachother Dannys eyes widened for a moment, realising that now, finally, he would have chance to correct his past mistake: “Mom, Dad, I have to tell you something important. I´m sorry, I didn´t tell you earlier, but I was afraid. Now I´m not. And I know it was wrong not to tell you. And I´m sorry. I´m...”   
Jack cut him off: “It´s okay, Danny-boy. We know.” “And we´re sorry we hunted you, all those times” Maddie added.   
Her son opened his mouth to protest, but Jack was faster: “We would never rip you apart molecule by molecule or do one of those other gruesome things we´ve threatened you with. We´re sorry and...you should know that even that we´re obsessed with ghost-hunting, family will always come first.”   
“Danny, we love and care for you, always. Be it ghost, boy or something inbetween” Maddie ended. The family shared another hug, each of them sharing silent goodbye tears.   
Danny instantly knew why his parents hadn´t come back. They would have been obsessed with ghost-hunting and it would have been so strong that they would most likely have started a havoc in the human world, causing Danny sooner or later to fight them, too.   
Danny sniffed and finally stepped back. His parents smiled softly. No words were needed in the moment when Danny finally was able to let his parents rest, knowing they would always watch over him, even though they weren´t there and didn´t have the choice he now knew he had. No, they never were the perfect parents, but they were his loving parents and this was all that mattered. And Danny managed a small smile while his parents finally moved on, knowing it would be for the better.

0oOo0

She followed him, worried. There was a ghost nearby and he ran off again. Worried for his safety (and emotional stability, after all he´s frightened by ghosts!) she fastly slipped after him.   
The chase, even though he didn´t know it was a chase, ended in a small side street. He looked around, not realising she was there and triggered his transformation.   
Blue rings formed around his waist, traveling up and down and completed the change into his alter Ego.   
The older girl stifled a gasp and waited until he flew away before exclaiming in her shock: “No way! Danny is the Ghostboy!”

0oOo0

Danny stared confused at the memory, knowing too well it wasn´t his. Whose was it? He didn´t have had another person knowing, did he?   
His thoughts were interrupted by a small chuckle making him turn around and his mood brighten. “Good guess, little brother, it truly wasn´t your memory, it was mine. And yes, before you ask, I knew” Jasmin “Jazz” Fenton stated calmly.   
Instantly Danny rushed to hug her, too. “Since when?” asked Danny when the siblings finally parted. His older sister smiled softy: “Since the Spectra incient. And why I didn´t tell you? Easy, I wanted you to be ready to tell me yourself. That would have been better for your psyche.”   
Danny stared at her and smiled softly. She hadn´t changed a bit. The redhead was still a going-to-be- psychologist and overprotective older sister. This confused him a little, which would have been her obsession? The one or the other?   
His sister seemed to sence his confusion and smiled: “I guess you want to know why I didn´t come back?” Danny quickly nodded, interested in finding out the reason. Jazz shrugged: “Well, let´s just say for now that Life didn´t want me to go instantly go back and hit sense into your battered psyche.”   
“...what...?” “Well, I could have gone instantly ghost and stopped this whole depression and splitting halves thing before it even started because I tend to hold my thoughts in order and didn´t need to sort them first after waking up in Deaths Realm. By the way what did you think to split yourself?! That´s just idiotic!”   
Danny winced slightly at her furious espression. Calming herself again with a deep breath, Jazz continued: “But obviously this brainless action had to happen, because Life herself had to held me back at some point. You should meet her, by the way, she´s pretty nice and almost as annoying as you.”   
“Hey!” Danny exclaimed in protest, but his sister ignored him: “Furthermore after some time in which I almost strangeled her for holding me back and going to help my Baby-Brother coming back to his senses – at one point Life had to get Death to hold me back, I think it was when Dan decided to have fun with poor Valerie.”   
Danny looked ashamed and muttered: “I already said sorry and it wasn´tlike I was the one who did this...” “ – the Master of Time himself decided to visit me and revealed that even if I could go back without becoming malovent thanks to having two obsessions – I´m not really sure how that even works with normal ghosts, I guess I´ll research that once we go back, the ghosts psyche is pretty interesting, too, if you ask me – it wasn´t time yet for me to return. He said you would come yourself here when it´s time and voila! Here you are. So now you´ve got a choice, little brother, and just so you know: I´ll always help you and I believe in you to make the right choice, because that´s who you are” Jazz finished.   
Danny smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck at that positive comment, still not used to such to such trust in his judgement.   
But then his smile faltered, and he paled: “But what if I decide wrong? I already did once, and it caused the world chaos. Wouldn´t it be better if I stayed away?” Jazz stared at him and sighed: “You´ve still got so much to learn, little brother. We already believe in you, and you should, too. That´s who you are. And not only half of you.” 

Dannys eyes widened at the comment, finally understanding the message. He willed his transformation to take place.   
And then, suddenly in the darkness of Deaths Realm ice-blue rings of light found their way up and down for the first time in ten years. Glowing green eyes opened and the two halves of the same coin, the same soul, understood in the same time that the darknes of deaths realm started to fade:  
“This is me: I am Danny Phantom, half-ghost hero of Amity Park. “And I´ll always continue to protect them, with or without the other half of me. Because that is who I am.”

0oOo0

Low gasps were heard when the silence of Amity Park was interrupted by the low humming of a ghost forming in front of them. When the incredible amount of light faded it left a smiling ghost-girl behind with amazingly red hair.   
Questions were almost thrown around when some of the towns people recognized her, but she only motioned to be quiet and watch. Because in the same minute slowly the wound of the hero started to fade.  
And finally skyblue eyes opened, changing for a second to glowing green before settling back to their normal colour, signaling there´s an other half of him.


	10. 10. Epilogue: Home

10\. Epilogue: Home

The blaring of an alarm clock woke the teen up. Groggily he stumbeled the stairs down after getting dressed until he found himself in the kitchen, where he lazily started to pour milk on some cornflakes.   
He just wanted to take his first bite when his mother entered the kitchen, a disapproving look on her face: “Jason, you´re late again! And you haven´t even brushed your teeth.” The sixteen-year old glared at her but got up to first take care of his body.   
Valerie sighed and turned to see the mess her son made while being only half awake. Her husband, Mikey, grinned when he entered: “And to think that he might be like that forever...can you think of it?” Valerie shuddered thinking about that maybe her son would be like that forever. 

0oOo0

A small lesson in ghost-physiology:  
Truth is there a many kind of ghosts and so are different types of halfas.   
Ghosts can be born in the Zone and age until they are grown-up and then be like that forever or Ghosts can have died and be stuck like that forever (with the exception of something really horrible happening to them, than their looks or ages can change, but they wouldn´t normally grow).  
With halfas it´s almost the same. There are accidental halfas – like Vlad or Danny – who won´t age on the parts of their body where they were blasted with electricity and ectoplasm, meaning for Danny he won´t age as long as he has his Phantom side. Vlad - after no longer having his Plasmius side - of course aged by the way.   
And there are born halfas - like Jason – who will age till their body is grown up and then they´ll be stuck like this forever.   
Because halfas are – just like ghosts until they fullfill their obsession – immortal. A fact that still never ceases to amaze the people researching ghosts.

0oOo0

When Jason finally decided to get ready for school, his mother remembered him: “Oh, and Jason? Do not to forget to go to Uncle Vlad after school, we wanted to celebrate there...” “I know, I know” the teen interrupted her annoyed and stormed out of the house before his mother could say anything else.   
“That boy” she groaned. Mikey grinned while he poured some coffee in his cup: “Na, it´s not that hopeless, Val. He´s after all just a teen, he still can change.” Valerie only rolled her eyes. After having comforted each other while the so dubbed “silence”, the two adults had decided to reconnect with each other, after all they went to High School together.   
Soon after that they fell in love with each other and married. It was definetly better for especially Jason for he had finally a father-figure. “How´s Vanessa?” Valerie asked, for she had night control as SPFFGHI (Special-Police-Force-For-Ghost-Human-Interaction) and therefore Mikey had to watch their six-year-old daughter for the night which was one of the most difficult tasks because the girl was hyperactive and insomniac. “She´s finally asleep” was Mikeys only answer while he downed his fifth cup of coffee this morning.

0oOo0

On his way to school Jason met his best friend, Box-Lunch. The ghostgirl still wore braces and was all in all not the prettiest, but she had – unlike her parents – a brain she actually used and a giantic ignorance of her obsession. Most ghost-profecionals said that couldn´t be healthy, but Box-Lunch simply shrugged it off and ignored them just like she did with all adults trying to force her to do something.   
Jason grinned and winced when his floating friend smacked him with her lunchbox on the head: “You slept in again, didn´t you? If we´re late again, it´s your fault, again!” The boy rubbed the sore spot and then changed into his ghost half.   
His brown skin became a light blue, his ears slightly pointed, his electric green eyes red and his short, black hair snowwhite. He instantly jumped into the air and leaped forward: “Then it´s good that we can fly! Race you to school!” And away he was, Box-Lunch quickly chased after him: “Hey, no fair!”  
It didn´t change the fact they were still late and got detention.

0oOo0

After the offiacial glorious defeat of Dan Phamntom/Plasmius, the world started a new.   
Finally cities were rebuilt and peace was everywhere. Plus the whole world now knew ghosts were real, so they started ghost’s politics to integrade their dead citycens back into society – and it worked.   
Now ghosts were regular occurences in school, jobs or just plain life. Humans and Ghosts now shared their worlds in harmony. And now that ghosts were persons, halfas were not that strange anymore...even though the legendary Danny Phantom was the only one stuck at age 14 then 21.   
The life went on and it never had been that peacefull before.

0oOo0

After school Jason quickly rushed to his Uncles mansion which had been rebuild, too, this time in the outskirts of Amity. His mother opened the door and glared at him angrily: “Jason, you´re late again, why?”   
The boy didn´t answer, he only phased through her and quickly rushed into the livingroom, where his whole family was staying right now – besides one. The TV was on and the reporter annouced that soon the Mars-Mission would finally be completed.   
Jazz only looked away from her book (nobody ever understood how she managed to read heavy psycholgist-litrature and watch TV at the same time) to shake her head at the boy: “Detention again?”   
Jason nodded, not sure how to answer to that. Vlad only shook his head: “It is nice that you finally decided to join us, but I get the feeling that if you continue like this, you´ll soon start turning into the little badger.”   
Jason shrugged at this while his mother entered the living room again: “I fail to see why this is so bad, after all Danny managed to make something out of his life.” “Aww, stop pushing him so much, how is it his fault he´s still just a teen” Mikey quickly spoke up for his step-son, while Vanessa in his arms giggled while she bounced up and down, her blue eyes sparkling: “Yeah, bad brother. When I´m big I´ll never get detention.”   
“And would you please shut up now!” Sam interrupted rudely before anyone else could add something to that. “The rocket will land soon and if you don´t shut up right now, I´ll make you!”   
And even though the ghostgirl still looked only 14 years old everyone in the room (even little Vanessa) knew to never take her threads lightly and it instantly became silent.   
Finally the reporter announced: “And the rocket will land in 10...9...8...(By now everyone in the room counted with her)...7...6...5...4...3...2...1...” The videofootage showed the first rocket to complete the Mars-Mission to land. The family cheered and hugged eachother.   
Then the door of the rocket opened, and a familiar black haired and blue-eyed teen came out, proudly wearing his NASA-uniform, for he was the first person on Mars, be it ghost, boy or something inbetween.   
He smiled softly and proud and nodded to the cameras filming. Even though his body was still young, his mind really wasn´t. The reporter quickly found her way through the others and yelled: “Mr. Fenton, Mr. Fenton! Or do you prefer Phantom? One question, please.”   
The young man nodded with understandment: “It doesn´t matter really, for they are both half of me. But right now I´m human and therefore please the first choice.”   
The reporter blinked, surprised with the deep answer, but caught herself quickly: “Mr. Fenton, how do you feel?”   
Danny smiled softly and answered: “Amazing. It´s good to be finally home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, and that´s it.  
Kudo, follow and do whatever you like as long as you review. I wanna hear everything! Love, hate, whatever!  
And if you liked the story, read my other stories, too. The complete ones are here on Archive, the incomplete ones on my Fanfiction profile. Read you there!


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